KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After the University of Kansas men's basketball team won the NCAA championship on Monday, Mass Street immediately flooded with fans.
There were lot's of memorable celebrations, but one in particular went viral.
In a tweet, Elijah Edwards could be seen crowd surfing in a shopping cart, earning him the nickname "Shopping cart guy."
Have you seen a crowd surfer…in a shopping cart? While fireworks are going off? #RockChalk + 100,000 people? pic.twitter.com/VBHdq57Xnw
— Megan Abundis (@meganrabundis) April 5, 2022
According to Curtis Marsh, a super fan known as Mr. KU, these moments will last forever.
"88, 08, these years memories do not fade, they last forever," Marsh said.
Nasser Nabulsi, a freshman at KU, did the race across campus once the Jayhawks won.
“I sprinted all the way from the opposite side of campus,” Nabulsi said. “I just jumped up and everyone was screaming, we just sprinted here.”
According to Edwards, thousands of other fans will remember this moment for a lifetime.
“I’ve never seen that many people in my life,” he said.
Marsh said that after feeling the impacts of COVID-19, this is what fans needed.
“The last two years for everyone have been painful, difficult and lonely,” Marsh said.
But loyalty to KU basketball brought them together.
“I think for some people it was a celebration of that game,” Marsh said. “But maybe for others it was a celebration of newness, new beginnings, being able to be together again and get back to whatever normal is.”
Though Marsh has been there through the years, Edwards' celebration is one he'll remember for years.
“Shopping cart guy, I’m going to remember for a long time,” Marsh said.
Edwards recalled his viral moment.
“I went to get footage on my camcorder just to document all of my college experiences," he said. "And I went to get footage and next thing I knew I was the footage. I just got thrown in the cart and was above people. Being up on top being above 70,000 people in a shopping cart, you only get to do that once in your lifetime.”
They all agree it was one of those special days — something you just can’t recreate, where everything went right.
“We have that Midwesterner mentality of doing the right thing and aw shucks we won the championship, give me a hug,” Marsh said.
